e-destinACCESS: The Destination Services Technology Solution

e-destinACCESS (E-DA), an Orange County, Calif.-based company that specializes in software for destination management companies, has officially launched e-dmc.com, its new Web-based DMC service for meeting and event planners, it announced this week.

The free service, which is modeled after a full-service DMC, directly connects meeting planners with meeting suppliers, as well as tools for automating the meeting planning process. Because it has no hidden fees or markups, E-DA says e-dmc.com allows planners to remove "middle-men costs" and save up to 50 percent of their budget, not to mention up to 75 percent of their manpower hours. "It is evident that the meeting industry is a major contributor to our economy," E-DA Chief Software Architect and CEO Wayne W. Beaubien said in a statement, citing U.S. Travel Association data showing that the meetings industry is responsible for 2.4 million jobs, $240 billion in spending and $39 billion in tax revenue. "The potential loss of 2.4 million jobs would be catastrophic to the U.S. economy. That is the significance of e-dmc.com, to provide the tools to boost the meeting industry [...] while being financially responsible." According to E-DA, e-dmc.com allows meeting planners to electronically organize events, create and submit RFPs, manage accounting and billing needs, and automate business processes, error-checking procedures and report production. Because it's free and Web-based, the company suggests that e-DMC will save meeting planners time and money, allowing them to plan meetings from anywhere in the world while shifting more resources away from personnel and towards meeting-enhancing activities like entertainment, spa services, and food and beverage. Concluded Beaubien, "We firmly believe that by introducing our free service, e-dmc.com, we can truly provide a tool within the hospitality and meeting planning business to help rejuvenate the economy and cut excess spending."